1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to trilobal carpet filaments combining the aspects of high bulk and high sparkle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of multilobal filaments in continuous filament or staple fiber form, particularly from nylon, for carpet yarn has been widely accepted for many years. U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,201 defined a group of trilobal filaments having improved resistance to soiling. The object of U.S. Pat. No. 3,097,416 was to provide filaments that exhibit a subdued luster, excellent covering power and high resistance to soiling. The Y-shaped synthetic filaments of U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,390 are said to provide an attractive appearance and dry hand in addition to a greater degree of covering power, greater bulk and a higher degree of contrast and pattern definition. U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,122 relates to crimped polyamide staple filament mixtures and yarn therefrom having high bulk and luster while being free of objectionable sparkle. Lastly U.K. Pat. No. 938,768 of 10/9/63 describes a spinning process for making trilobal synthetic filaments. None of the foregoing exemplifies a product having the bulk and sparkle of yarns of the present invention nor are such yarns suggested by the prior art. In general it was found that those prior art products with good sparkle had relatively low bulk and vice versa. The present invention identifies the critical relationship between selected filament cross-section parameters needed to achieve the combination of high bulk with high sparkle.